|
JOHN MURRAY, THE COVENANT OF GRACE
---------------------------------------
聖約神學﹕體會到上帝啟示的歷史漸進性。
Covenant theology = an appreciation of the progressive nature of revelation.
不只是17世紀 Cocceius，加爾文就看到這點﹕《基督教要義》卷二，10-11章。
Not only in the 17th century, but as early as Calvin: a distinct emphasis on the historic progressiveness and continuity of redemptive revelation. (Institutes, Book II, x & xi.)
「上帝與所有先祖所立的約，和祂與我們所立的約在本質上完全沒有差異，是同一個約。只有在施行方法上不同。」（《基督教要義》，2﹕10﹕2。）
“The covenant of all the fathers is so far from differing substantially from ours, that it is the very same. Only the administration varies.” (II, x. 2.)
「這個問題若還是不清楚的話，讓我們來看約的形式，就滿足我們的無知和需求了。因為耶和華多次與祂的僕人立約﹕「我要作你們的上帝，你們要作我的子民。」（利26﹕12）這些話，按照最普通的舊約解釋，包含了生命，救恩，和最高的喜樂。 」（《基督教要義》，2﹕10﹕8。）
“If the subject still appears involved in any obscurity, let us proceed to the very form of the covenant; which will not only satisfy sober minds, but will abundantly prove the ignorance of those who endeavour to oppose it. For the Lord has always covenanted thus with his servants: “I will be to you a God, and ye shall be to me a people” (Lv. xxvi. 12). These expressions, according to the common explanation of the prophets, comprehend life, and salvation, and consummate felicity.” (II, x. 8.)
聖約神學更強調﹕上帝救贖的啟示 = 約的啟示。
Covenant theology further emphasizes that: God’s redemptive revelation = covenant revelation.
因此﹕上帝救贖啟示的結果﹕敬虔 = 約裏的敬虔。
Result of redemptive revelation: religion/piety = covenant religion/piety.
自宗教改革以來，一般對「約」的定義﹕
「我們必須作出這樣的結論，因為﹕上帝與亞伯拉罕所建立的「恩典與應許」的關係，乃是一個約的關係。…」(p. 4)
“The necessity of this conclusion can readily be shown by the fact that the relation of grace and promise established by God with Abraham was a covenant relation.”
可是，改革宗的聖約神學需要更正﹕NEED FOR CORRECTION.
Usual definition of the term “covenant” (Since Protestant Reformation):
協同，兩個人之間的合同﹕其中有應許，有條件。
A compact, an agreement between two parties: promise, conditions.
I． 聖經中「約」的用法﹕
The Use of the Term in Scripture (pp. 8-12)
強調「上帝的恩典」，和「上帝的應許」﹕這兩點完全符合聖經。
Emphasis on grace and promise of God is thoroughly in accord with biblical data.
「當我們研究《聖經》所提供關於上帝的「約」的證據的時候，我們會發現，這些（前文所提到的）神學家所強調的﹕上帝的恩典和應許，是完全符合有關的經文的。我們將會看見，約中「應許」的層面，是百講不厭的。可是我們現在要面對的問題乃是﹕協議，合同，同意這些觀念，是否研究「恩典之約」的正確出發點？」
“As we study the biblical evidence bearing upon the nature of divine covenant we shall discover that the emphasis in these theologians upon God’s grace and promise is one thoroughly in accord with the relevant biblical data. As we shall see, the gracious, promissory character of covenant cannot be over-accented. But the question that confronts us is whether the notion of mutual compact or agreement or convention provides the proper point of departure for our construction of the covenant of grace.”
「我們現在要討論的問題，不是﹕神學家用了這個（合同的）觀念，有沒有完全意識到其涵義，在建構「恩典之約」的觀念的時候有沒有過分作文章，以致建構的結果（恩典之約的觀念）被這（合同的）觀念歪曲了。其次，我們處理的問題也不是﹕合同的觀念，是否適用於解釋上帝計劃中的某些層面，就是說，上帝施恩救贖墮落的罪人的計劃中的某些層面。第三，問題也不是﹕在思想「恩典之約」所展示的關係的時候，是否完全不可以想到相互性 (mutuality)？」
“The question now is not whether the theologians who made use of this concept were entirely governed by its implications and carried it out so rigidly in their construction of the covenant of grace that the total result was warped and distorted by the importation and application of this idea. Furthermore, the question is not whether the idea of compact may not with propriety be used in the interpretation and construction of certain aspects of those divine provisions which lie behind and come to expression in God’s administration of saving grace to fallen men. And, finally, the question is not whether mutuality must be ruled out of our conception of what is involved in the relation which the covenant of grace constitutes.”
「簡言之，問題乃是﹕聖經神學研究是否發現，按照聖經的用詞，「約」（希伯來文 berith，希臘文 diatheke）可以被解釋為一個雙方同意的合同。」
“The question is simply whether biblico-theological study will disclose that, in the usage of Scripture, covenant (berith in Hebrew and diatheke in Greek) may properly be interpreted in terms of a mutual pact or agreement.”
[a] 人與人之間的約Covenants between men
“When we examine the Scripture we do find that berith is applied to relationships established between men. Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant at Beer-sheba (Gn. xxi. 27, 32). Abimlech said to Isaac, ‘Let us make a covenant with thee’ (Gn. xxvi. 28). Laban said to Jacob, ‘Now therefore come thou, and let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee’ (Gn. xxxi.44). The Gibeonites said to Joshua, ‘Make ye a covenant with us’ (Jos. Ix. 6, 11, R.V., cf. verse 15). David made a covenant with Jonathan, and Jonathan with David (1 Sa. Xviii. 3). David made a covenant with Abner (2 Sa. iii. 12, 13, 21); he also made a covenant with all the elders of Israel in Hebron when he became king over all Israel (1 Ki. v. 12). It might seem that here undoubtedly the notion of agreement or contract prevails and that to make a covenant is simply to enter into a mutual compact or league.”
創Gen. 21:27, 32 – 亞伯拉罕與亞比米勒Abraham and Abimelech
27 亞伯拉罕把羊和牛給了亞比米勒，二人就彼此立約。
32 他們在別是巴立了約，亞比米勒就同他軍長非各起身，回非利士地去了。
創Gen. 26:28 – 亞比米勒與以撒Abimelech to Isaac
他們說﹕我們明明地看見耶和華與你同在，便說﹕不如我們兩下彼此起誓彼此立約。
創Gen. 31:44 – 拉班與雅各Laban to Jacob
來罷，你我二人可以立約，作你我中間的證據。
書Josh. 9:6, 11, 15 – 基便人與約書亞Gibeonites to Joshua
6 他們到吉甲營中見約書亞，對他和以色列人說﹕我們是從遠方來的。現在求你與
我們立約。
11 我們的長老和我們那地的一切居民對我們說﹕你們手裏要帶著路上用的食物，
去迎接以色列人，對他們說﹕我們是你們的僕人。現在求你們與我們立約。
15 於是約書亞於他們講和，與他們立約，容他們活著。會眾的首領，也向他們起
誓。
撒上I Sam. 18:3– 大衛與約拿單David and Jonathan
約拿單愛大衛如同愛自己的性命，就與他結盟。
撒下2 Sam. 3:12 – 大衛David and Abner
12 押尼珥打發人去見大衛, 替他說, 這國歸誰呢？ 又說, 你與我立約我必幫助你, 使
以色列人都歸服你.
13 大衛說, 好. 我與你立約. 但有一件, 你來見我面的時候, 若不將掃羅的女兒米甲
帶來, 必不得見我的面.
21 押尼珥對大衛說﹕我要起身去招聚以色列眾人來見我主我王，與你立約。你就
可以照著心願作王。於是大衛送押尼珥去，押尼珥就平平安安的去了。
撒下2 Sam. 5:3 – 大衛與以色列眾長老，在希伯崙 David with all elders of Israel at Hebron
於是以色列的長老都來到希伯崙見大衛王。大衛在希伯崙耶和華面前與他們立約，他們就膏大衛作以色列的王。
王上I Kings 5:12 – 所羅門Solomon and Hiram
耶和華照著所應許的賜智慧給所羅門。希蘭與所羅門和好，彼此立約。
[1]「首先我們必須說明，就算在這些約中，「彼此訂合同」的觀念是至要的，這不等於說，上帝與人所立的約中，「合同」觀念是最重要的。我們必須承認，人與人所立的約裏有一種的平等性(parity)，這因素在上帝與人所立的約裏是不存在的。同時我們必須體會到聖經和其它文學用詞是有彈性的。因此我們會發現，人間的關係裏，相互性是必須有的；但這個觀念在上帝與人之間的關係裏，就完全不適當了。」
“It must be said, first of all, that, even should it be true that in these covenants the idea of mutual compact is central, it does not follow that the idea of compact is central in or essential to the covenant relation which God constitutes with man. We have to recognize a parity existing between men which cannot obtain in the relation between God and man. And we must also appreciate the flexibility that attaches to the use of terms in Scripture as well as in other literature. Hence we might find that mutual compact is of the essence of covenant when a merely human relationship is in view and that such an idea would be entirely out of place when a divine-human relationship is contemplated. ”
[2]七十士譯本將 berith 譯為diaQhkh。
sunQhkh 是「合同」的更好譯法。我懷疑﹕七十士本譯者的思想，不完全被「合同」觀念左右。（慕理不同意 Vos。）
LXX renders berith diaQhkh. sunQhkh= better translation for “compact.” We suspect: LXX translators not governed by “mutual agreement.” Murray => Vos.
「其次，我們必須指出，七十士譯本將berith 譯為 diatheke。這是很重要的，因為﹕假如在這些經文中，「約」的核心意義包括了「雙方同意的合同」的話，我們應該會看到，七十士譯本會把 berith 譯為 suntheke。至少，我們會懷疑﹕其實，七十士譯本的翻譯員，在處理這些人與人之間的約的關係的時候，是否並沒有受到「雙方同意」的觀念所左右？霍志恆 (Geerhardus Vos) 錯誤的認為﹕「當人與人立約 (berith)，雙方同意的時候，翻譯員不用diaQhkh，而用sunQhkh來表達；後者乃是完全與「約」 相配的。」不是的﹕Suntheke 一詞差不多沒有在七十士譯本中的正典出現過；出現了兩三次，不過只有一次，可能是用作翻譯 berith 的。而這一次是指上帝與以色列所立的，主的約。」
“In the second place, it needs to be noted that the LXX in these cases renders the Hebrew berith by the Greek word diatheke. This is significant because, if mutual compact belonged to the essence of covenant in these cases, we should have expected the translators to use suntheke. To say the least this raises our suspicion that the LXX translators were not governed by the thought of mutual agreement when they came to these instances of covenantal human relationships. Geerhardus Vos is mistaken when he says that ‘where the berith is made between man and man and consists in a mutual agreement, the translators do not employ diaQhkh but sunQhkh, a word exactly corresponding to the word covenant.’ (‘Hebrews, the Epistle of the Diatheke,” in The Princeton Theological Review, Vol. XIII, p. 603.) The term suntheke hardly ever appears in the canonical books of the LXX. It appears two or three times but only once possibly as the translation of berith. In this one possible case it refers to the Lord’s covenant with Israel.”
[3]「第三方面，我們考察有關經文的時候會發現，「協議」、「合同」的觀念並不顯著。當然我們承認，「親自的參與」，和「委身」的觀念，是與雙方同意、立約的過程有關。… 可是當我們查考所有人與人之間的約的時候，我們會很清楚的看到，雙方彼此「發誓忠誠」的觀念，比「合同」與合同中的條件更顯著。人與人嚴肅地發誓，彼此委身 (engagement)。這個「發誓忠誠」觀念顯著到一個地步，立約的時候，連協議訂下的條件都可以不出現。所強調的是，一方立約，委身於另一方；至於這次委身是基於哪些條件，卻不一定說出。」（頁10）
“In the third place, when we examine some of the instances in question we shall discover that the thought of pact or contract is not in foreground. It is not denied that there is engagement or commitment in reference to something upon which the person entering into covenant is agreed. … But when all the instances of merely human covenants are examined, it would definitely appear that the notion of sworn fidelity is thrust into prominence in these covenants rather than that of contract. It is not the contractual terms that are in prominence so much as the solemn engagement of one person to another. To such an extent is this the case that stipulated terms of agreement need not be present at all. It is the giving of oneself over in the commitment of troth that is emphasized and the specified conditions as those upon which the engagement or commitment is contingent are not mentioned.” (p. 10)
「約的本質在於﹕「毫無保留的忠誠」的應許，全人、全心的委身。約裏必有應許，可能以發誓作應許的印證 (seal)；這些儀式的結果，乃是盟約 (bond) 的形成。兩方面接連在一起 (bonded)，進入這個關係裏，就是毫無保留的委身的關係。我們可以從大衛對約拿單所說的看得清楚﹕「你在耶和華面前曾與僕人結盟」（撒上20﹕8；譯註﹕原文意思是﹕「你把僕人帶到耶和華的約裏」。）。大衛視約拿單與他所立的約，為帶有上帝監管(sanctions) 的盟約；他認為這約有上帝的誓約為印證。」
“It is the promise of unreserved fidelity, of whole-souled commitment that appears to constitute the essence of the covenant. There is promise, there may be the sealing of that promise by oath, and there is the bond resultant upon these elements. It is a bonded relationship of unreserved commitment in respect of the particular thing involved or the relationship constituted. This is well illustrated by what David says to Jonathan: ‘thou has brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee’ (1 Sa. Xxx. 8). David accords to Jonathan’s commitment the bonded character of divine sanction and regards it as sealed by divine oath.”
「 上面對與人之間所立的約若是正確的話，那麼，彼此商討之後所訂下的條件與細節，成為合同的條件，不一定存在，甚至在人與人之間的約也不一定出現。當然，人與人之間立盟約 ，彼此委身 (bond of commitment) 肯定是有的，可是，這個「委身」的觀念是那麼的深刻，它含蓋了約的全部，以致合同的條件往往被忽視，甚至在經文完全消失。」
“If this analysis of the nature of these human covenants is correct, then the idea of stipulations and conditions devised by mutual consultation and agreed upon as the terms of engagement need not to be present even in human covenants. There is, of course, the bond of commitment to one another, but so profound and all-embracing is this commitment that the notion of contractual stipulations recedes into the background or disappears entirely. To say the least, the case is such in these instances of human relationship that no evidence can be derived from them to support the idea of mutual contract or compact.”
[b] 人與上帝立的約Covenants made by man with God
“The next type of covenant to be considered is the covenant of human initiative entered into with the Lord. In the days of Joshua the people said, ‘The Lord our God will we serve, and unto his voice will we hearken’ (Jos. xxiv. 24, R.V.), and in answer to this promise ‘Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem’ (xxiv. 25). There is the case of Jehoiada who ‘made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people’ (2 Ki. xi. 17). Josiah ‘made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant’ (2 Ki. xxiii. 3, R.V.). Finally, Ezra said to the people in his day, ‘Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives’ (Ezr. x. 3). These are instances of covenanting with God.”
書Josh. 24:24, 25
當日，約書亞就與百姓立約，在示劍為他們立定律例典章。
– 約書亞與以色列民
Joshua with the people
王下2 Kings 11:17
耶何耶大使王和民與耶和華立約，作耶和華的民。又使王與民立約。
– 耶何耶大前天Jehoiada
– 耶和華，王，與以色列民之間between the Lord, king, and people
王下2 Kings 23:3
王站在柱旁，在耶和華面前立約，要盡心盡性地順從耶和華，遵守祂的誡命、法度、 律例，成就這書上所記的約言。眾民都服從這約。
– 約西亞，在耶和華面前Josiah before the Lord
拉Ezra 10:3
現在當與我們的上帝立約，休這一切的妻，離絕她們所生的，照著我主那因上帝命令戰兢之人所議定的，按律法而行。
– 以斯拉﹕以色列人與耶和華Ezra – people with the Lord
「我們很容易發現，在這些經文中所突出的，並不是合同的觀念。嚴格來說，根本不是協議 (agreement)。雖然，進入約裏的人應許要作某些事，可是，準確來看，這裏表達的觀念並不是人與耶和話的協議 (agreement)。我們必須分辨（一）同意以致達成協議 (agreement)，和（二）和同意 (consent) 與委身。」
“We cannot fail to note that what is in the forefront in these cases is not a contract o compact. Strictly speaking, it is not an agreement. Though the persons entering into covenant agree to do certain things, the precise thought is not that of agreement between the people and the Lord. We must distinguish between devising terms of agreement or striking an agreement, on the one hand, and the agreement of consent or commitment, on the other.”
在這些經文我們看見﹕立約者嚴肅的委身，應許忠誠。他們藉著結盟「自我束縛」 (bind themselves)，要按照上帝啟示的旨意向祂忠誠。立約就是嚴肅的發誓，奉獻自己給上帝，無條件地、毫無保留地委身服事祂。（頁11）
“What we find in these instances is solemn, promissory commitment to faith or troth on the part of the people concerned. They bind themselves in bond to be faithful to the Lord in accordance with His revealed will. The covenant is solemn pledging of devotion to God, unreserved and unconditional commitment to His service.” (p. 11)
‘We are far away from the idea of a bond as sealed on the acceptance of certain prescribed stipulations and the promise of fulfillment of these stipulations on the condition that other parties to the contract fulfil the conditions imposed upon them. The thought is rather that of unreserved, whole-souled commitment.”
(p. 11)
[c] 上帝的約。創造，護理。
Divine covenants. Creation and providence.
“When we pass on to those instances of covenant which are specifically divine it is here that the question becomes particularly pointed and urgent: does the idea of mutual compact or agreement constitute the essence of a divine covenant? Or, if this points the question too sharply, is mutual compact or agreement an integral element in the biblical conception of a covenant which God dispenses to men?”
耶Jer. 33:20-25
20 耶和華如此說﹕你們若能廢棄我所立白日黑夜的約，使白日黑夜不按時輪轉，
21 就能廢棄我與我僕人大衛所立的約，使他沒有兒子在他的寶座上為王，並能廢
棄我與事奉我的祭司、利未人所立的約。
25 耶和華如此說﹕若是我立白日黑夜的約不能存住，若是我未曾安排天地的定
例。
–日、夜的約。 the covenant of the day and of the night.
創Gen. 8:22
地還存留的時候，稼穡、寒暑、冬夏、晝夜就永不停息了。
– 上帝是信實的，祂的典章不改變，祂的應許不改變。上帝的典章堅定不移。
「舊約裏幾處，「約」指上帝在創造與護理中所設定的的典章 (ordinances)。… 明顯地，這裏所強調的乃是﹕這些典章的穩固性 (stability)，和永恆性 (perpetuity)，就是因為是上帝設定 (ordination) 的，而因為上帝設定而有的不變性 (immutability)。」
“There are a few instances in the Old Testament where the word covenant is used with reference to God’s creative and providential ordinances. … Obviously what is emphasized is the stability and perpetuity of these ordinances arising from the ordination of God and the immutability arising from such ordination.”
「這裏可能也提到洪水之後上帝所應許的，就是﹕ 地還存留的時候，稼穡、寒暑、冬夏、晝夜就永不停息了（創8﹕22）。這樣說來，上帝不只是對祂的護理典章忠誠，而且對祂所應許的話忠誠；總的來說， 這裏所提到的「約」，指向上帝的典章，因為是上帝自己設定的，又因著上帝的全能，和祂的信實，所以是堅固不動搖的。 我們這裏看見，約表達了上帝單方面行事的原則 (divine monergism) 和上帝的絕對忠誠 (fidelity)。」
“There may also be an allusion to the promise given after the flood that while the earth remained seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night would not cease (Gn. viii.22). In that event the faithfulness of God not only to His providential ordinances but also to His promise would be brought into view, and the total thought would be that covenant in this connection points to the ordinances of God as immovably established by the ordination, power, and faithfulness of God. We are given some indication of the way in which covenant may be used to express divine monergism and fidelity.”
II． 洪水之後上帝與挪亞立的約。
Post-diluvian Noahic Covenant. (pp. 12-15)
“We come now to those instances of covenant administration which have respect to God’s bestowal of grace upon men, instances with which we are directly concerned in our attempt to discover what precisely constitutes a covenant and what precisely is the nature of that relation on the part of God to men which covenant constitution contemplates. We may consider, first of all, that instance which, perhaps more than any other in Scripture, assists us in discovering what the essence of covenant is, namely, the
post-diluvian Noahic covenant (Gn. ix. 9-17). In regard to this covenant the following features are patent.”
創Gen. 9:9-17
9 我與你們和你們的後裔立約,
10 並與你們這裡的一切活物, 就是飛鳥, 牲畜, 走獸凡從方舟裡出來的活物立約.
11 我與你們立約, 凡有血肉的, 不再被洪水滅絕, 也不再有洪水毀壞地了.
12 上帝說, 我與你們並你們這裡的各樣活物所立的永約, 是有記號的.
13 我把虹放在雲彩中, 這就可作我與地立約的記號了.
14 我使雲彩蓋地的時候, 必有虹現在雲彩中,
15 我便記念我與你們, 和各樣有血肉的活物所立的約, 水就再不氾濫毀壞一切有血
肉的物了.
16 虹必現在雲彩中, 我看見, 就要記念我與地上各樣有血肉的活物所立的永約.
17 上帝對挪亞說, 這就是我與地上一切有血肉之物立約的記號了.
[1] 「由上帝自己構思、設計、決定、成立、確定、安排。」
“Conceived, devised, determined, established, confirmed, dispensed by God Himself.”
“It is God’s covenant in that it is conceived, devised, determined, established, confirmed, and dispensed by God Himself. ‘And I, behold I, am establishing my covenant with you’ (Gn. ix. 9; cf. vrerses 11, 12, 13, 17).
創Gen. 9:9, 11, 12, 13, 17
9 我與你們和你們的後裔立約,
11 我與你們立約, 凡有血肉的, 不再被洪水滅絕, 也不再有洪水毀壞地了.
12 上帝說, 我與你們並你們這裡的各樣活物所立的永約, 是有記號的.
13 我把虹放在雲彩中, 這就可作我與地立約的記號了.
17 上帝對挪亞說, 這就是我與地上一切有血肉之物立約的記號了.
[2] 範圍﹕涉及人類（9，10節）﹕約運行在不認識約的人身上；福份臨到他們。
Universal in scope (vv. 9, 10). Operates on behalf of, and dispenses blessings to those who have no intelligent apprehension of it.
“It is universal in its scope, a covenant not only with Noah but with his seed after him and with every living creature (verses 9, 10). This places in obvious relief the fact that it affects for good even those who do not have any intelligent understanding of its meaning. The covenant operates for good to such an extent that its benefits are not contingent upon intelligent appreciation of the covenant or of the benefits which are dispensed in terms of it.”
“We must not forget, of course, that the blessings bestowed in terms of this covenant are not dispensed in complete abstraction from the revelation given at the time of its establishment nor in abstraction from understanding of its significance on the part of men. God spoke to Noah and to his sons. This was revelation, and revelation implies subjects endowed with the intellectual capacity to understand its character and its effects. Furthermore, we may not forget that the covenant purpose and grace were made known to Noah, and the perpetuity of the covenant is continuously attested in order that those capable of understanding may have confidence in the security and perpetuity of the covenant graces bestowed. But we must also observe that the covenant operates on behalf of, and dispenses its blessings to, those who are wholly unaware of, and dispenses its blessings to, those who are wholly unaware of its existence. It is a covenant with all flesh.”
[3] 無條件的。並沒有吩咐。「背約」是不可能的。
Unconditional. No commandment. Breaking covenant is inconceivable.
“It is an unconditional covenant. This feature is, of course, co-ordinate with the fact that intelligent understanding is not indispensable to the reception of its benefits. But the particular consideration now in view is that no commandment is appended which could be construed as the condition upon which the promise is to be fulfilled. And there is not the slightest suggestion to the effect that the covenant could be annulled by human unfaithfulness or its blessing forfeited by unbelief; the thought of breaking the covenant is inconceivable. The confirmation given is to the opposite effect. In a word, the promise is unconditional.”
[4] 強烈的「單方面」性質。人完全沒有參與。（16節）
Intensely, pervasively monergistic. No human agency whatever. Unilateral (v 16).
“The covenant is intensely and pervasively monergistic. Nothing exhibits this more clearly than the fact that the sign attached to attest and seal the divine faithfulness and the irrevocability of God’s promise is one produced by conditions over which God alone has control and in connection with which there is rigid exclusion of human co-operation. The sign is not an action instituted by God and performed by man at the divine behest. It is one in which there is no human agency whatsoever. Even what is said regarding the bow in the cloud has a Godward reference. God will see it to remember the everlasting covenant. There is, doubtless, anthropomorphism here. But it is anthropomorphism for the purpose of bringing to the forefront the unilateral character of the covenant. It is true that the revelatory purpose of the bow in the cloud is not to be forgotten. But the significant fact is that the revelatory purpose is to bear witness to the divine faithfulness. It is the constant reminder that God will not prove unfaithful to His promise. The main point to be stressed now, however, is that this continuance is dependent upon divine faithfulness alone; in anthropomorphic terms, upon the divine remembrance alone. And if we fail to interpret the sign aright, if we regard it simply as a natural phenomenon without any reference to its covenantal meaning, this does not negate or nullify the divine remembrance and the perpetuity of God’s faithfulness. ‘I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth’ (Gn. ix. 16).”
[5] 永遠的約（11節）。永久性 = 與上帝單方面立約有密切的關係。
Everlasting. (v. 11) Perpetuity = bound up with its divinely unilateral, monergistic character.
“It is an everlasting covenant. All flesh will not again be cut off by the waters of the flood (Gn. ix. 11). The perpetuity is bound up with its divinely unilateral and moergistic character. It is because it is divine in its origin, administration, establishment, and confirmation that it can be perpetual. And we may say that the perpetuity both stems from and witness to its divinity. Perpetuity and divinity are complementary and mutually interdependent.”
上帝主權的恩典﹕不是「合同」。
Sovereign grace – not “agreement.”
「 這些約的特徵明顯展示﹕這約是上帝主權施行的；在約的構思，決定，啟示，
肯定，和成就，都是如此；完全是上帝忍耐，良善的施行 (administration) 與賜予 (dispensation)；沒有靠人的信心和順服為約的條件。恩典的施行，完全來自上帝主權的美意；也完全因為祂不變的應許和祂的信實， 這約永久持續，不被更改，不會收回。 」
“These features of the covenant plainly evince that this covenant is a sovereign, divine administration, that it is such in its conception, determination, disclosure, confirmation, and fulfillment, that it is an administration or dispensation of forbearance and goodness, that it is not conditioned by or dependent upon faith or obedience on the part of men. It is an administration of grace which emanates from the sovereign good pleasure of God and continues without any modification or retraction of its benefits by the immutable promise and faithfulness of God.”
“It is quite apparent that in this covenant we must not take our point of departure from the idea of compact, or contract, or agreement in any respect whatsoever. It is not contractual in its origin, or in its constitution, or in its operation, or in its outcome. Its fulfillment or continuance is not in the least degree contingent even upon reciprocal obligation or appreciation on the part of its beneficiaries. Yet it is a covenant made with men, with Noah and his sons and their seed after them to perpetual generations. It is a covenant characterized by divinity in a way unsurpassed by any other covenant and yet it draws men within the scope of its operation as surely as any other covenant does. Here we have covenant in the purity of its conception as a dispensation of grace to men, wholly divine in its origin, fulfillment, and confirmation.”
“The question inevitably faces us: may we consider the post-diluvian Noahic covenant as providing us with the essential features of a divine covenant with men? Is there not in this covenant that which makes it inappropriate as the criterion of the terms which could govern the covenant relationship pf God wit men on the highest level? In this covenant creation as a whole is brought within the scope of the favour bestowed. Hence it can be argued that the relationship with men involved in this covenant must be on a denominator that is common to man and to the non-moral creation and cannot, therefore, possess any of the differentiating features which would characterize covenant relationship to men as men. Needless to say this consideration must be taken into account in our interpretation of hat constitutes divine covenant on the highest level of blessing and relationship. And yet it would be unwarranted to disregard entirely the direction of thought provided by this particular covenant.
“An aspect of this differentiation appears in the pre-diluvian Noahic covenant, the first instance of reference to covenant in the Old Testament (see Gn. vi. 18). In this case Noah was commanded to do certain things and the doing of these things on the part of Noah was the indispensable condition of the fulfillment of the grace provided for in the covenant. ‘Thus did Noah according to all that God commanded him, so did he’ (Gn. vi. 22). Yet even in this case, where obedience commandments is the means through which the grace of the covenant is to be realized and enjoyed, we must also take note of the fact that in other respects this covenant exhibits the features of divine initiation, determination, establishment, and confirmation which are so conspicuous in the post-diluvian Noahic covenant. The idea of compact or agreement is just as conspicuously absent as in the post-diluvian.”
“Significantly enough, the commandments which are appended, compliance with which on the part of Noah is indispensable to the blessing of preservation, do not in the least suggest mutuality of agreement or compact. The commandments are added in such a way that they are just as sovereign and unilateral in prescription or dispensation as is the annunciation of the covenant itself. The appended requirements are simply extensions, applications, expressions of the grace intimated in the covenant. The directions are as sovereign as the annunciation of the covenant and they flow naturally from it so that there is no deflection from the idea of sovereign dispensation. We may think of Noah as co-operating with God in carrying out the provisions of the covenant but the co-operation is quite foreign to that of pact or convention. It is the co-operation of response which the grace of the covenant constrains and demands.”
III. 上帝與亞伯拉罕立的約。
The Abrahamic Covenant. (pp. 16-20)
“When we come to the Abrahamic covenant we find features which are entirely new in connection with covenant administration. The first distinctive feature appears in connection with the initial reference to the covenant (Gn. xv. 8-18). It is the solemn sanction by which the Lord confirmed to Abraham the certainty of the promise that he would inherit the land of Canaan. It is perhaps the most striking sanction that we have in the whole of Scripture, particularly if we interpret it as a self-maledictory oath in which, anthropomorphically, God calls upon Himself the curse of dismemberment if He does not fulfil to Abraham the promise of possessing the land. The second distinctive feature is the reference to keeping and breaking the covenant (Gn. xvii. 9, 10, 14).
With reference to the first distinctive feature there are certain observations which are pertinent to the question we are now pursuing.
[1] 應許﹕自我咒詛的誓約。
Promise: self-maledictory oath.
“Though this feature is signally distinctive, it underlines what we have found already respecting the earlier covenants, namely, that a covenant is a divine administration, divine in its origin, establishment, confirmation and fulfillment. It is not Abraham who passes through between the divided pieces of the animals; it is the theophany. And the theophany represents God. The action therefore is divinely unilateral. It is confirmation to Abraham, not confirmation from him. Abraham here does not pledge his troth to God by a self-maledictory oath but God condescends to pledge troth to his promise, a fact which advertises the divine sovereignty and faithfulness as brought to bear upon and as giving character to the covenant constituted. ‘In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates’ (Gn. xv. 18).
創Gen. 15:8-18
8 亞伯蘭說, 主耶和華阿, 我怎能知道必得這地為業呢？
9 他說, 你為我取一隻三年的母牛, 一隻三年的母山羊, 一隻三年的公綿羊, 一隻斑鳩,
一隻雛鴿.
10 亞伯蘭就取了這些來，每樣擘開分成兩半，一半對著一半的擺列，只有鳥沒有
擘開。
11 有鷙鳥下來, 落在那死畜的肉上, 亞伯蘭就把牠嚇飛了.
12 日頭正落的時候，亞伯蘭沉睡了。忽然有驚人的大黑暗落在他身上。
13 耶和華對亞伯蘭說, 你要的確知道, 你的後裔必寄居別人的地, 又服事那地的人,
那地的人要苦待他們四百年.
14 並且他們所要服事的那國, 我要懲罰, 後來他們必帶著許多財物, 從那裡出來.
15 但你要享大壽數，平平安安的歸到你列祖那裏，被人埋葬。
16到了第四代, 他們必回到此地, 因為亞摩利人的罪孽還沒有滿盈.
17日落天黑, 不料有冒煙的爐, 並燒著的火把, 從那些肉塊中經過.
18 當那日, 耶和華與亞伯蘭立約, 說, 我已賜給你的後裔，從埃及河直到伯大河之地,
[A] 由上帝執行。上帝經過祭物。
Divine administration: God passes through the meat.
[2] 守約與背約。Keeping / breaking covenant.
福份的內涵。我要作你們的上帝，你們要作我的子民。
Essence of blessing: I will be your God, you shall be my people.
“The distinctiveness of he sanction and the added solemnity which it involves are correlative with the intimacy and spirituality of the blessing which the covenant imparts. The essence of the blessing is that God will be the God of Abraham and of his seed, the characteristic promise of the Old Testament. ‘I will be you God, and ye shall be my people’. In a word, this consists in union and communion with the Lord.
“With reference to the second distinctive feature, namely, the necessity of keeping the covenant and the warning against breaking it, we cannot suppress the inference that the necessity of keeping is complementary to the added richness, intimacy, and spirituality of the covenant itself. The spirituality of the Abrahamic covenant in contrast with the Noahic consists in the fact that the Abrahamic is concerned with religious relationship on the highest level, union and communion with God. Where there is religious relationship there is mutuality and where we have religious relationship on the highest conceivable level there mutuality on the highest plane of spirituality must obtain. This is just saying that there must be response on the part of the beneficiary and response on the highest level of religious devotion. The keeping of the covenant, therefore, so far from being incompatible with the nature of the covenant as an administration of grace, divine in its initiation, confirmation, and fulfillment, is a necessity arising from the intimacy and spirituality of the religious relation involved. The more enhanced our conception of the sovereign grace bestowed the more we are required to posit reciprocal faithfulness on the part of the recipient. The demands of appreciation and gratitude increase with the length and breadth and depth and height of the favour bestowed. And such demands take concrete practical form in the obligation to obey the commandments of God.”
“We are led to the conclusion that in the Abrahamic covenant there is no deviation from the idea of covenant as a sovereign dispensation of grace. We have found that grace is intensified and expanded rather than diminished and the greater the grace the more accentuated becomes the sovereignty of its administration. The necessity of keeping the covenant on the part of men does not interfere with the divine monergism of dispensation. The necessity of keeping is but the expression of the magnitude of the grace bestowed and the spirituality of the relation constituted. Even in this case the notion of compact or agreement is alien to the nature of the covenant constitution.”
“It may plausibly be objected, however, that the breaking of the covenant envisaged in this case interferes with the perpetuity of the covenant. For does not the possibility of breaking the covenant imply conditional perpetuity? ‘The uncircumcised male … shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant’ (Gn. xvii. 14, R.V.). Without question the blessings of the covenant and the relation which the covenant entails cannot be enjoyed or maintained apart from the fulfilment of certain conditions on the part of the beneficiaries. For when we think of the promise which is the central element of the covenant, ‘I will be your God, and ye shall be my people’, there is necessarily involved, as we have seen, mutuality in the highest sense. Fellowship is always mutual and when mutuality ceases fellowship ceases. Hence the reciprocal response of faith and obedience arises from the nature of the relationship which the covenant contemporaries (cf. Gen. xviii. 17-19; xxii 16-18). The obedience of Abraham is represented as the condition upon which the fulfillment of the promise given to him was contingent and the obedience of Abraham’s seed is represented as the means through which the promise given to Abraham would be accomplished. There is undoubtedly the fulfillment of certain conditions and these are summed up in obeying the Lord’s voice and keeping His covenant.”
“It is not quite congruous, however, to speak of these conditions as conditions of the covenant. For when we speak thus we are distinctly liable to be understood as implying that the covenant is not to be regarded as dispensed until the conditions are fulfilled and that the conditions are integral to the establishment of the covenant relation. And this would not provide a true or accurate account of the covenant. The covenant is a sovereign dispensation of God’s grace. It is grace bestowed and a relation established. The grace dispensed and the relation established do not wait for the fulfillment of certain conditions on the part of those to whom the grace is dispensed. Grace is bestowed and the relation established by sovereign divine administration. How then are we to construe the conditions of which we have spoken? The continued enjoyment of this grace and of the relation established is contingent upon the fulfillment of certain conditions. For apart from the fulfillment of these conditions the grace bestowed and the relation established are meaningless. Grace bestowed implies a subject and reception on the part of that subject. The relation established implies mutuality. But the conditions in view are not really conditions of bestowal. They are simply the reciprocal responses of faith, love and obedience, apart form which the enjoyment of the covenant blessing and of the covenant relation is inconceivable. In a word, keeping the covenant presupposes the covenant relation as established rather than the condition upon which its established is contingent.”
創Gen. 17:9, 10, 14.
9 神又對亞伯拉罕說, 你和你的後裔, 必世世代代遵守我的約.
10 你們所有的男子, 都要受割禮這就是我與你, 並你的後裔所立的約, 是你們所當遵
守的.
14 但不受割禮的男子, 必從民中剪除, 因他背了我的約.
守約 = 必須的，基於信仰關係的親密性和屬靈性。
Keeping = necessary, arising out of intimacy and spirituality of religious relation.
上帝主權地施行恩典。
Sovereign dispensation of grace.
有背約的可能性。那麼，約的永久性是否有條件？
Does the possibility of breaking the covenant imply a conditional perpetuity?
創Gen. 17:14
但不受割禮的男子, 必從民中剪除, 因他背了我的約.
不錯﹕約，必須有人的回應。
There must be response.
創Gen. 18:17-19
17 耶和華說﹕我所要作的事，豈可瞞著亞伯拉罕呢？
18 亞伯拉罕必要成為強大的國，地上的萬國都必因他得福。
19 我眷顧他，為要叫他吩咐他的眾子，和他的眷屬，遵守我的道，秉公行義，使
我所應許亞伯拉罕的華都成就了。
創Gen. 22:16-18
16 耶和華說﹕你既行了這事，不留下你的兒子，就是你獨生的兒子，我便指著自
己起誓說﹕
17 論福，我必賜大福給你，論子孫，我必叫你的子孫多起來，如同天上的星，海
邊的沙，你子孫必得著仇敵的城門。
18並且地上萬國都必因你的後裔得福，因為你聽從了我的話。
可是，這些條件，不是約存在的條件。
But these conditions are not conditions of the covenant.
不是說﹕除非人符合這些條件，不然約不施行。
It is NOT true that, only if conditions are fulfilled, then the covenant would be dispensed.
不錯﹕「除非人成就這些條件，不然上帝所施的恩典，和祂所設立的關係是沒有意義的。」
“Apart from the fulfillment of these conditions the grace bestowed and the relation established are meaningless.”
人守約，是因為上帝設立了約的關係。約本身的存在是守約的前提，人守約不是約存在的條件。
“Keeping the covenant presupposes the covenant relation is established / rather than the condition upon which its establishment is contingent.”
“It is when viewed in this light that the breaking of the covenant takes on an entirely different complexion. It is not the failure to meet the terms of a pact nor failure to respond to the offer of favourable terms of contractual agreement. It is unfaithfulness to a relation constituted and to grace dispensed. By breaking the covenant what is broken is not the condition of bestowal but the condition of consummated fruition.”
“It should be noted also that the necessity of keeping the covenant is bound up with the particularism of this covenant. The covenant does not yield its blessing to all indiscriminately. The discrimination which this covenant exemplifies accentuates the sovereignty of God in the bestowal of its grace and the fulfillment of its promises. This particularization is correlative with the spirituality of the grace bestowed and the relation constituted and it is also consonant with the exactitude of its demands. A covenant which yields its blessing indiscriminately is not one that can be kept or broken. We see again, therefore, hat the intensification which particularism illustrates serves to accentuate the keeping which is indispensable to the fruition of the covenant grace.”
若人不能守一個約，或不能背負一個約，這個約是亂發福分的約。
A covenant which yields its blessing indiscriminately is not one that can be kept or broken.
約有獨特性（上帝向某些人立約），因此守約是必需的。
Particularism necessitates keeping covenant.
IV．上帝與摩西立的約。
The Mosaic Covenant. (pp. 20-22)
“The Mosaic covenant offers more plausible support to the conception of compact than does any other covenant of God with men. Furthermore, the notion of prescribed conditions would appear to receive more support from the circumstances of this covenant than from those of any other. Such considerations as these have been the occasion for constructions which set the Mosaic covenant in sharp contrast both with the Abrahamic covenant and the New Testament.”
“At the outset we must remember that the idea of conditional fulfillment is not something peculiar to the Mosaic covenant. We have been faced quite poignantly with this very question in connection with the Abrahamic covenant. And since this feature is there patent, it does not of itself provide us with any reason for construing the Mosaic covenant in terms different from those of the Abrahamic. Another preliminary observation is that the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt is stated expressly to be in pursuance of the Abrahamic covenant. With reference to the Egyptian bondage we read: ‘And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob’ (Ex. ii. 24). The only interpretation of this is that the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and the bringing of them into the land of promise is in fulfillment of the covenant promise to Abraham respecting the possession of the land of Canaan (Ex. iii. 16, 17, vi. 4-8; Pss. cv. 8-12, 42-45, cvi. 45). A third observation is that the spirituality of the relationship which is the centre of the Abrahamic covenant is also at the centre of the Mosaic. ‘And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God’ (Ex. vi. 7; cf. Dt. xxix. 13). This fact links the Mosaic very closely with the Abrahamic and shows that religious relationship on the highest level is contemplated in both, namely, union and communion with God. We must not, therefore, suppress or discount these important considerations that the Mosaic covenant was made with Israel as the sequel to their deliverance from Egypt, a deliverance wrought in pursuance of the gracious promises given by covenant to Abraham, wrought with the object of bringing to fulfillment the promise given to Abraham that his seed would inherit the land of Canaan, and a deliverance wrought in order to make Israel His own peculiar and adopted people.”
“The first express reference to the covenant made with Israel at Sinai occurs in connection with keeping the covenant. ‘Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation’ (Ex. xix. 5, 6). The next explicit reference appears as the sequel to the promise of the people, ‘All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and be obedient’ (Ex. xxiv. 7, R.V.) and Moses sprinkled the blood and said, ‘Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words’ (Ex. xxiv. 8).”
“The foregoing references as well as other considerations might create the impression that the making of the covenant had to wait for the voluntary acceptance on the part of the people and their promise to obey and keep it. A close study of these passages will not bear out such an interpretation. It is an importation contrary to the texts themselves and one that has deflected the course of thought on this subject. Ex. xix. 5 does not say, ‘If ye will obey my voice and accept the terms stipulated, then I will make my covenant with you’. What it said is, ‘If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me’. The covenant is conceived of as dispensed, as in operation, and as constituting a certain relation, in the keeping of it and in obeying God’s voice. The covenant is actually presupposed in the keeping of it. Undoubtedly there is a conditional feature to the words, ‘If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant’. But what is conditioned upon obedience and keeping of the covenant is the enjoyment of the blessing which the covenant contemplates. In like manner in Ex. xxiv. 7, 8, the covenant is not to be regarded as contingent upon the promise of the people, so that the dispensing of the covenant had to wait for this promise. And verse 8 is not to be construed as if then the covenant had been inaugurated or as if acceptance on the part of the people completed the process of constituting the covenant relation. The covenant had already been established and the blood was simply confirmation or seal of the covenant established and of the relation constituted. This gives a different perspective to our interpretation of the Mosaic covenant, and we find that the Mosaic covenant also is a sovereign administration of grace, divinely initiated, established, confirmed, and fulfilled. Later references in the Pentateuch confirm this interpretation of sovereign appointment or dispensation (Ex. xxxiv. 27, 28; Lv. xxiv. 8; Nu. xviii. 19, xxv. 13; cf. Ne. xiii. 29).”
“The question of the condition referred to above does call, however, for some consideration. How does the condition of obedience comport with the concept of a monergistic administration of grace? The answer must follow the lines which have been delineated above in connection with the keeping of the Abrahamic covenant. What needs to be emphasized now is that the Mosaic covenant in respect of the condition of obedience is not in a different category from the Abrahamic. It is too frequently assumed that the conditions prescribed in connection with the Mosaic covenant place the Mosaic dispensation in a totally different category as respects grace, on the one hand, and demand or obligation, on the other. In reality there is nothing that is principially different in the necessity of keeping the covenant and of obedience to God’s voice, which proceeds from the Mosaic covenant, from that which is involved in the keeping required in the Abrahamic. In both cases the keynotes are obeying God’s voice and keeping the covenant (cf. Gn. xviii. 17-19; Ex. xix. 5, 6).
[1] 有守約，成全約的條件﹕摩西之約不是惟一，獨特的。
Conditional fulfillment = not peculiar to Mosaic covenant.
[2] 上帝拯救﹕應驗了亞伯拉罕之約。
Deliverance = in fulfillment of Abrahamic covenant.
出Ex. 2:24
上帝聽見他們的哀聲，就記念祂與亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各所立的約。
出Ex. 3:16, 17
16 你去招聚以色列的長老，對他們說﹕耶和華你們祖宗的上帝，就是亞伯拉罕的
上帝，以撒的上帝，雅各的上帝，向我顯現，說﹕我實在眷顧了你們，我也看
見埃及人怎樣待你們。
17 我也說﹕要將你們從埃及的困苦中領出來，往迦南人、赫人、亞摩利人、比利
洗人、希未人、耶布死人的的去，就是到流奶與蜜之地。
出Ex. 6:4-8
4 我與他們堅定所立的約，要把他們寄居的迦南地賜給他們。
5 我也聽見以色列人被埃及人苦待的哀聲，我也記念我的約。
6 所以你要對以色列人說﹕我是耶和華，我要用伸出來的膀臂重重的刑罰埃及人，
救贖你們脫離他們的重擔，不作他們的苦工。
7 我要以你們為我的百姓，我也要作你們的上帝，你們要知道我是耶和華你們的上
帝，是救你們脫離埃及人之重擔的。
8 我起誓應許給亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的那地，我要把你們領進去，將那地賜給你
們為業。我是耶和華。
詩Ps. 40:8-12
8 我的上帝阿，我樂意照你的旨意行。你的律法在我心裏。
9 我在大會中宣傳公義的佳音。我必不止住我的嘴唇。耶和華阿，這是你所知道
的。
10 我未曾把你的公義藏在心裏。我已陳明你的信實，和你的救恩。我在大會中未
曾隱瞞你的慈愛，和誠實。
11 耶和華阿，求你不要向我止住你的慈悲。願你的慈愛和誠實，常常保佑我。
12 因有無數的禍患圍困我。我的罪孽追上了我，使我不能昂首。這罪孽比我的頭
髮還多。我就心寒膽戰。
[3] 約是屬靈的﹕中心思想。
Spirituality = central.
出Ex. 6:7
我要以你們為我的百姓，我也要作你們的上帝，你們要知道我是耶和華你們的上帝，是救你們脫離埃及人之重擔的。
申Deut. 29:13
這樣，祂要照祂向你所應許的話，又向你列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各、所起的誓，今日立你作祂的子民，祂作你的上帝。
頭一次提到「約」字，就提到守約。
Keeping covenant = first reference to covenant.
出Ex. 19:5, 6
5 如今你們若實在聽從我的話，遵守我的約，就要在萬民中作屬我的子民，因為全
地都是我的。
6 你們要歸我作祭司的國度，為聖潔的國民。這些話你要告訴以色列人。
第二次清楚提到「約」﹕在以色列民應許之後。
Next explicit reference – sequel to promise of people.
出Ex. 24:7-8
7 又將約書念給百姓聽。他們說﹕耶和華所吩咐的，我們都必遵行。
8摩西將血灑在百姓身上，說﹕你看，這是立約的血，是耶和華按這一切話與你們
立約的憑據。
* 出19﹕5 – 這節並不證明，人守約，是立約的條件。
* Ex. 19:5 does not prove conditional fulfillment.
如今你們若實在聽從我的話，遵守我的約，就要在萬民中作屬我的子民，因為全地都是我的。
* 其實，人守約的時候，約已經存在；約的存在是守約的前提。
* “The covenant is actually presupposed in the keeping of it.”
* 約中的條件是﹕人若遵守約，順服上帝的吩咐，就能享受約中提到的福份。
* “What is conditional upon obedience and keeping of the covenant is the enjoyment of the blessing which the covenant contemplates.”
上帝主權地執行這約。
Sovereign administration.
出Ex. 36:27, 28
利Lev. 24:8
每安息日要常擺在耶和華面前。這為以色列人作永遠的約。
民Num. 18:19
凡以色列人所獻給耶和華聖物中的舉祭，我都賜給你和你的兒女，當作永得的分，這是給你和你的後裔，在耶和華面前作為永遠的鹽約。（鹽即不廢壞的意思。）
民Num. 25:13
這約要給他和他的後裔，作為永遠當祭司職任的約，因他為上帝有忌邪的心，為以色列人贖罪。
尼Neh. 13:29
我的上帝阿，求你記念他們的罪。因為他們玷污了祭司的職任，違背你與祭司、利未人所立的約。
亞伯拉罕之約，和摩西之約﹕
「重點是﹕順服上帝的聲音，遵守祂的約。」
Both Abraham and Moses: “The keynotes are obeying God’s voice and keeping the covenant.”
創Gen. 18:17-19
17 耶和華說﹕我所要作的事，豈可瞞著亞伯拉罕呢？
18 亞伯拉罕必要成為強大的國，地上的萬國都必因他得福。
19 我眷顧他，為要叫他吩咐他的眾子，和他的眷屬，遵守我的道，秉公行義，使我所應許亞伯拉罕的話都成就了。
出Ex. 19:5-6
5 如今你們若實在聽從我的話，遵守我的約，就要在萬民中作屬我的子民，因為全
地都是我的。
6 你們要歸我作祭司的國度，為聖潔的國民。這些話你要告訴以色列人。
因此﹕摩西之約不是一種新的約。
Therefore: Mosaic covenant = NOT new kind of covenant.
V．上帝與大衛立的約。
The Davidic Covenant. (pp. 22-25)
“If the Mosaic covenant does not disclose deviation from the fundamental notion of a covenant, namely, that it is a sovereign dispensation, divine in its origin, establishment, confirmation, and fulfillment, we should not expect that subsequent covenant administrations would evince a radically different conception. Indeed so basic to the whole subsequent process of redemptive history are the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants that the later developments would be expected to confirm and intensify what we have found to be the specific character of covenant administration. Although the word covenant does not occur in 2 Sa. vii. 12-17, we must conclude that this is specifically the annunciation to David which is elsewhere spoken of as the covenant made with David. In Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4 the terms of 2 Sa. vii. 12-17 are clearly reiterated. ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant: thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.’ And the same is true in later verses of the same Psalm (cf. verses 26ff.). ‘My covenant shall stand fast with him’ (verse 28). ‘My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips’ (verse 34; cf. Ps. cxxxii. 11ff.). A study of these passages will show that the most striking feature is the security, the determinateness, and immutability of the divine promise. Nothing could serve to verify the conception of the covenant which has been elicited from earlier instances more than the emphasis in these passages (relating to the Davidic covenant) upon the certainty of fulfillment arising from the promise and oath of God. Security and certainty as characterizing the covenant could not be more plainly demonstrated than by the parallelism: ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant’. And David reflects this note of certainty when, at the close of his career, his resort for consolation and assurance was nothing else than the covenant of his God: ‘Verily my house is not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for it is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he maketh it not to grow’ (2 Sa. xxiii. 5). No example of covenant in the Old Testament more clearly supports the thesis that covenant is sovereign promise, promise solemnly by the sanctity of an oath, immutable in its security and divinely confirmed as respects the certainty of its fulfillment.”
“These Davidic promises are, of course, messianic; it is in Christ that David’s seed is established for ever and his throne built up to all generations. In this connection we cannot overlook the relevance of those passages in Isaiah in which the servant of the Lord is said to be given for a covenant of the people. The prophet introduces this messianic personage with the words, ‘Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth’ (Is. xlii. 1). And he quickly adds: “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles’ (verse 6). Later he reiterates: ‘And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people; (Is. xlix. 8). The co-ordination of Is. lv. 3, 4 is equally significant: ‘Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples’ (R.V.). Nothing less than sovereign dispensation and unilateral bestowment will comfort with the donation of the servant as a covenant of the people. Any notion of agreement or compact would ruthlessly violate the sovereignty of the grace involved and the divine monergism of the action entailed. And no doubt this unusual way of expressing the bestowment of grace is dictated by the consideration that nothing accentuates the certainty and security of promise and fulfillment more than to invest the assurance given with the sanction of covenant. Furthermore, in these Isaianic passages the inference is inevitable that the everlasting covenant which the Lord makes with the people is correlative with the fact that He has given the servant as a covenant of the people. The security of the covenant with the people is grounded in the security of the donation of the servant as a covenant of the people. And when Malachi calls the messenger ‘the messenger of the covenant’ (Mal. iii. 1), there is the implication that not only is the Messiah given for a covenant of the people but that when He is sent forth to discharge His office it is in terms of the covenant that He does this. He is the angel of the covenant because He comes in pursuance of the covenant promise and purpose, and He is Himself the covenant because the blessings and provisions of the covenant are to such an extent bound up with Him that He is Himself the embodiment of these blessings and of the presence of the Lord with His people which the covenant insures. To whatever extent the response of inclining the ear, of hearing, and of coming (Is. lv. 3) may be requisite in order that the blessings of covenant grace and relationship may be ours, it must be apparent that the covenant itself is a sovereign donation of the child born and the Son given (Is. ix. 6). There is nothing that corresponds to the contractual in the declaration ‘I will give thee for a covenant of the people’ nor in the promise ‘I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David’. Elsewhere in this prophecy of Isaiah it is the certitude and immutability of God’s grace that is thrust into prominence in connection with covenant disclosure. ‘This is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee’ (Is. liv. 9, 10; cf. lix. 21). This passage shows that the post-diluvian Noahic covenant provides the pattern or type of what is involved in God’s covenant of peace with His people, namely, that it is an oath-bound and oath-certified assurance of irrevocable grace and promise.
撒下2 Sam. 7:12-17
12你壽數滿足、與你列祖同睡的時候，我必使你的後裔接續你的位，我也必堅定
他的國。
13 他必為我的名建造殿宇；我必堅定他的國位，直到永遠。
14 我要作他的父，他要作我的子，他若犯了罪，我必用人的杖責打他，用人的鞭
責罰他。
15 但我的慈愛仍不離開他，像離開在你面前所廢棄的掃羅一樣。
16 你的家和你的國必在我（原文作﹕你）面前永遠堅立。你的國位也必堅定，直
到永遠。』」
17拿單就按這一切話，照這默示，告訴大衛。
詩Ps. 89:3-4, 26ff, 34
3 我與我所揀選的人立了約，向我的僕人大衛起了誓。
4 我要建立你的後裔，直到永遠。要建立你的寶座，直到萬代。
26 他要稱呼我說﹕你是我的父，我的上帝，是拯救我的磐石。
27 我也要立他為長子，為世上最高的君王。
28 我要為他存留我的慈愛，直到永遠。我與他立約，必要堅定。
29 我也要使他的後裔，存到永遠，使他的寶座，如天之久。
34 我必不背棄我的約，也不改變我口中所說的。
詩Ps. 132:11ff
11 耶和華向大衛憑誠實起了誓，必不反覆，說﹕我要使你所生的作在你的寶座
上。
12 你的眾子若守我的約，和我所教訓他們的法度，他們的子孫，必永遠坐在你的
寶座上。
13 因為耶和華揀選了錫安，願意當作自己的居所，
14 說﹕這是我永遠安息之所。我要住在這裏。因為是我所願意的。
最顯著的特性﹕堅定，穩固，上帝應許不改變。
Most striking feature – security, determinateness, immutability of divine promise.
撒下2 Sam. 23:5
我家在上帝面前並非如此。上帝卻與我立永遠的約。這約凡事堅穩。關乎我的一切救恩，和我一切所想望的，祂豈不為我成就麼？
上帝的應許都集中在彌賽亞身上，耶穌基督成全這些應許。
Promises = Messianc, fulfilled in Christ.
賽Isa. 42:1, 6
1 看哪，我的僕人，我所扶持，所揀選，心裏所喜悅的，我已將我的靈賜給祂，祂
必將公理傳給外邦。
6 我耶和華憑公義召你，必攙扶你的手，保守你，使你作眾民的中保 (中保﹕約)，
作外邦人的光。
賽Isa. 49:8
耶和華如此說﹕在悅納的時候我應允了你，在拯救的日子我濟助了你。我要保護你， 使你作眾民的中保，(中保原文作﹕約) 復興遍地，使人承受荒涼之地為業。
賽Isa. 55:3-4
3 你們就當近我來。側耳而聽，就必得活。我必與你們立永約，就是應許大衛那可
靠的恩典。
4 我已立他作萬民的見證，為萬民的君王和司令。
上帝賜祂的僕人，作為「約」。（中文聖經譯作﹕「約的中保」。）
God gives the servant as a covenant of the people.
瑪Mal. 3:1
萬軍之耶和華說﹕我要差遣我的使者，在我前面預備道路。你們所尋求的主，必忽然進入祂的殿。立約的使者，就是你們所仰慕的，快要來到。
約的使者。
Angel of the covenant
賽Isa. 54:9-10
9這事在我好像挪亞的洪水。我怎樣起誓不再使挪亞的洪水漫過遍地，我也照樣起
誓不再向你發怒，也不斥責你。
10 大山可以挪開，小山可以遷移。但我的慈愛必不離開你，我的平安也不遷移。這是憐恤你的耶和華說的。
賽Isa. 59:21
耶和華說﹕至於我與他們所的約，乃是這樣。我加給你的靈，傳給你的話，必不離開你後裔與你後裔之後裔的口，從今直到永遠。這是耶和華說的。
挪亞之約 = 基本模式。
Noahic covenant = the pattern.
VI．新約裏的「約」的觀念
Covenant in the New Testament
「當我們看新約的時候，我們發現很多提到 diatheke 的地方，是指舊約時期地約地；有時候直接引用舊約經文（路1﹕72； 徒3﹕35； 7﹕8； 羅9﹕4， 11﹕27； 林後﹕14； 加3﹕15， 17， 4﹕24； 弗2﹕12；來8﹕9， 9﹕4， 15， 20）。有些其它的經文提到舊約的應許，不過沒有直接提到舊約的約。」
“When we come to the New Testament a goodly number of the instances of diatheke are references to Old Testament covenants, sometimes in quotation from the Old Testament (Lk. i.72; Acts iii.35; vii. 8; Rom. ix.4, xi.27; 2 Cor. iii. 14; Gal. iii. 15, 17, iv. 24; Eph. ii. 12; Heb. viii. 9, ix. 4, 15, 20). There are others which refer to Old Testament promises, though not specifically to Old Testament covenants.”
“There are instructive lessons, pertinent to our inquiry, to be derived from these Old Testament allusions. The first (Lk. i. 72) is illumining in this respect. When Zacharias says that the Lord, the God of Israel, had remembered His holy covenant, the oath which He had sworn to Abraham, it is apparent that he construes the redemptive events which form the subject of his doxology as a fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. The language of his blessing is unmistakably reminiscent of the language used when God had been preparing His people for the imminent deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. We cannot escape the inference that the redemptive accomplishment signalized by the coming of Christ found its historical prototype in the redemption from Egypt. In Zacharias’ esteem it is the same fidelity to covenant promise and oath that is exemplified in the accomplishment of redemption through Christ and in the redemption from Egypt by the hand of Moses and Aaron. This indicates that the undergirding principle of the thought of pious Israelites at this time was the unity and continuity of God’s covenant revelation and action, a principle which came to spontaneous expression in the thanksgiving of Zacharias and bears the imprimatur of the Holy Spirit. It was by inspiration that Zacharias spoke, for we are told that he ‘was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied’ (Lk. i. 67).
“Another observation worthy of note is the occurrence of the plural ‘covenants’ in reference to the privilege of Israel (Rom. ix. 4; Eph. ii. 12). Apparently the New Testament writers did not think of the peculiar prerogatives of Israel in terms simply of the Abrahamic covenant even though this covenant is given very distinc prominence in other passages. And of more significance is the fact that Paul speaks of these covenants as ‘the covenants of promise’ (Eph. ii. 12). He does not hesitate to place the various covenants which constituted the distinctiveness of Israel in the category of promise just as he does not hesitate to list the ‘covenants’ together with the adoption and the glory and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises (Rom. ix. 4). In this we are advised of the direction in which we are to seek for the New Testament conception of the covenant.
「在這系列的新約經文中，最重要的無疑是加拉太書3﹕15，17。保羅在這裏強調的是約的不變性，穩定性，和「不可廢棄」。15節﹕「我且照著人的常話說，雖然是人的文約，若已經立定了，就沒有能廢棄或加增的。」17節﹕「我是這麼說﹕上帝預先所立的約，不能被那四百三十年以後的律法廢掉，叫應許落於虛空。」不論我們怎麼解釋 diatheke 的意義，認為是指遺囑或是施行 (dispensation)，我們不能忽視使徒保羅的思想﹕人所立的約，一旦立定就不可廢除。亞伯拉罕之約，本質上就是這個「不可廢棄」；因此，約裏所應許的，也是不會廢棄，不會更改的。我們毫無疑問地看見，這裏的「約」是應許，是恩典的施行；都是由上帝建立，肯定，成就。因此，約裏所提供的不能廢除，而且永遠有效。」
“Most significant of all, perhaps, in this classification of New Testament passages is Gal. iii. 15, 17. Paul’s emphasis here is upon the immutability, security, inviolability of covenant. ‘Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds thereto.’ ‘A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, does not disannul, so as to make the promise of no effect.’ Whatever view we may entertain regarding the precise import of diatheke in this passage, whether it is the testamentary or the dispensatory, we cannot escape the governing thought of the apostle, namely, that a human covenant is irrevocable once it has been confirmed and that it is that same inviolability which characterizes the Abrahamic covenant and therefore, also, the promise which the covenant embraced. Here, without question, covenant appears as a promise and dispensation of grace, divinely established, confirmed, and fulfilled, inviolable in its provisions and of permanent validity.”
(a) The New Covenant and the Old
When we come to those passages in the New Testament which deal specifically with the new covenant in contrast with the old it is highly significant that the contrast between the new economy and the old is not expressed in terms of difference between covenant and something else not a covenant. The contrast is within the ambit of covenant. This would lead us to expect that the basic idea of covenant which we find in the Old Testament is carried over into the New. We are confirmed in this expectation when we take account of the fact that the new covenant is the fulfillment of the covenant made with Abraham (Lk. i. 7; Gal. iii. 15ff.). The new economy as covenant attaches itself to the Old Testament covenant promise and cannot be contrasted with Old Testament covenant in respect of that which constitutes the essence of covenant grace and promise. We can express the fact that the new covenant is the expansion and fulfillment of the Abrahamic by saying that it was just because the promise to Abraham had the bonded and oath-bound character of a covenant that its realization in the fullness of the time was inviolably certain. The new covenant in respect of its being a covenant does not differ from the Abrahamic as a sovereign administration of grace, divine in its inception, establishment, confirmation, and fulfillment. The most conclusive evidence, however, is derived from a study of the New Testament respecting the nature of the new covenant. We shall find that the features of the covenant are the same as those we found in connection with the covenant in the Old Testament.”
“When our Lord said that His blood was the blood of the covenant that was shed for many for the remission of sins and that the cup of the last supper was the new covenant in his blood (Mt. xxvi. 28; Mk. xiv. 24; Lk. xxii. 20; 1 Cor. xi. 25), we cannot but regard the covenant as a designation of the sum-total of grace, blessing, truth, and relationship comprised in that redemption which his blood has secured. Covenant must refer to the bestowment and the relationship secured by the sacrificial blood which He shed. It is the fullness of grace purchased by His blood and conveyed by it. By way of comparison there is an allusion, no doubt, to the blood by which the old covenant, the Mosaic, had been sealed (Ex.xxiv. 6-8; cf. Heb. ix. 18). And since the new is contrasted with the old it cannot be that the contrast inheres in any retraction or dilution of the grace which we have found to be the essence of covenant under the Old Testament.”
“Apart from the reference to the institution of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Cor. xi. 25, the only passage in Paul where he refers expressly to the new covenant is 2 Cor. iii. 6. Here, however, we have the most illumining reflection upon the nature of the new covenant. It is the ministration of the Spirit as the Spirit of life (verses 6, 8). It is the ministration of righteousness (verse 9), and of liberty (verse 17). Most characteristically of all, it is the ministry of that transfiguration by which we are transformed into the image of the Lord himself. When we assess the significance of such blessings in terms of New Testament teaching and specifically of Pauline teaching we see that Paul conceives of the new covenant as that which ministers the highest blessing and constitutes the relationship to God which is the crown and goal of the redemptive process and the apex of the religious relationship.”
“When we turn to the Epistle to the Hebrews and particularly to those passages in which the contrast is drawn between the inferiority of the Mosaic covenant and the transcendent excellence of the new and better covenant we find that the conception of covenant which we have already found is applied to the highest degree. However accentuated may be the problem connected with the writer’s evaluation of the Mosaic covenant, which he contrasts with the new, the resolution of the question will not interfere with our understanding of the conception he entertains respecting the new and better covenant. It is a covenant with a more excellent ministry (Heb. viii. 6), that is to say, more excellent in respect of the access to God secured and the fellowship maintained. To whatever extent the old covenant was the means of establishing the peculiar relation of the Lord to Israel as their God and their relation to Him as His people, the new covenant places this older intimacy of relation in the shadow. For it is the new covenant par excellence which brings to realization the promise ‘I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people’ (Heb. viii. 10). In other words, the spiritual relationship which lay at the centre of the covenant grace disclosed in both the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants reaches its ripest fruition in the new covenant. So great is the enhancement that a comparative contrast can be stated as if it were absolute. The new covenant is enacted upon better promises (Heb. viii. 6). We found that bonded and oath-bound promise constitutes the essence of the covenant conception. In the new covenant the promises are better and they are placed in the forefront as defining its superiority. Again, the new covenant is not indifferent to law. It is not contrasted with the old because the old had law and the new has not. The superiority of the new does not consist in the abrogation of that law but in its being brought into more intimate relation to us and more effective fulfillment in us. ‘I will put my laws into their mind, and upon their hearts will I write them’ (Heb. viii. 10). The new covenant is the dispenser of the forgiveness of sins: ‘I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins will I remember no more’ (Heb. viii. 12). Finally, the new covenant is one that universalizes the diffusion of knowledge: ‘They shall all know me from the least unto the greatest of them’ (Heb. viii. 11). In all of this we have the covenant as a sovereign administration of grace and promise, constituting the relation of communion with God, coming to its richest and fullest expression. In a word, the new covenant is covenant as we have found it to be all along the line of redemptive revelation and accomplishment. But it is covenant in all these respects on the highest level of achievement. If the mark of covenant is divinity in initiation, administration, confirmation, and fulfillment, here we have divinity at the apex of its disclosure and activity.
[b] The concept of ‘testament’
No instance of diaqhkh in the New Testament is more relevant to the thesis now being developed than Heb. ix. 16, 17. There have been interpreters who have taken the position that even in this passage the word should not be rendered or construed as testament but as covenant. It seems to me that Geerhardus Vos has effectively dealt with the fallacy of this interpretation. We may assume, therefore, that in these two verses the writer does introduce the testamentary notion of a last will. It is admittedly an exceptional use of the term as far as the New Testament is concerned, and it is introduced for the specific purpose of illustrating the transcendent efficacy or effectiveness of the death of Christ in securing the benefits of covenant grace. Just as the disponement made in a last will goes into effect with the death of the testator and is thereupon of full force and validity for the benefit of the legatee, so, since Christ through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, the blessing of the new covenant becomes ours. Specifically in terms of the context, our consciences are purged from dead works to serve the living God and we receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. The testamentary provisions referred to in verses 16 and 17 are introduced simply for the purpose of enforcing the efficacy of Jesus’ death in bringing into effect the blessings of the new covenant. There is no more possibility or feasibility of interference with the effective application of the blessings of the covenant than there is of interfering with a testamentary disponement once the testator has died. This use of the testamentary provision of Roman law to illustrate the inviolable security accruing from the sacrificial death of Christ serves to underline the unilateral character of the new covenant. One thing is apparent that a testament is a unilateral disposition of possession. How totally foreign to the notion of compact, contract, or agreement is the disposition or dispensation which can be illustrated in respect of its effective operation by a last will! This occasional use of diaqhkh as testament cannot comport with a concept of covenant which in any way derives its definition from the idea of mutual agreement.
結論Conclusion (pp. 30-32):
「從上帝起初向人啟示祂所立的約的時候，我們就發現一個貫徹的觀念，就是﹕上帝的約，乃是祂主權的施行祂的恩典與應許。「約」不是「合同」，合同並不是約裏最重要的觀念；最重要的是立約者的心意 (disposition)，和立約者施行 / 執行(dispense) 祂的心意。不過這個最基本和核心的觀念，在不同的情況中的應用會不一樣﹕在每一次約的施行 (covenant administration) 中，所賜下的恩典和應許的準確定義都稍微不同。其中的差異並沒有從基本的觀念偏離，而是﹕恩和應許的豐富、完備性在不同情況下有所不同。《聖經》絕大多數地方的意思是﹕「約」就是救贖性地恩典與應許。不同時代地約，相對與上帝啟示與成就祂救贖旨意的不同階段。這些約與不同的救贖時代完全相配。不只是相配，「約」本身賦予每一時代的意義﹕救贖的啟示與成就，與約的啟示與成就，完全是同一回事。」
“From the beginning of God’s disclosures to men in terms of covenant we find a unity of conception which is to the effect that a divine covenant is a sovereign administration of grace and of promise. It is not compact or contract agreement that provides the constitutive or governing idea but that of dispensation in the sense of disposition. This central and basic concept is applied, however, to a variety of situations and the precise character of the grace bestowed and of the promise given differs in the differing covenant administrations. The differentiation does not reside in any deviation from this basic conception but simply consists in the differing degrees of richness and fullness of the grace bestowed and of the promise given. Preponderantly in the usage of Scripture covenant refers to grace and promise specifically redemptive. The successive covenants are coeval with the successive epochs in the unfolding and accomplishment of God’s redemptive will. Not only are they coeval, they are correlative with these epochs. And not only are they correlative, they are themselves constitutive of these epochs so that redemptive revelation and accomplishment become identical with covenant revelation and accomplishment.
「當我們體會這件事就會發現﹕救贖啟示在歷史中的前進，同時就是「恩典之約」的豐盛被啟示在歷史中的前進。每一時代啟示的「恩典之約」比先前的更豐富﹕這並沒有偏離或削減從起初的基本觀念；反之我們必須期待，後來的增充了，深化了先前的。 因此到了新約時期，約的施行達到高峰的時候，我們看見上帝主權的恩典與應許也達到了最高的境界，因為所賜的恩典，所賦予的應許，乃是與人類最高的好處有關的（譯註﹕即人的得救，上帝的榮耀）。難怪，新約也稱為永遠之約。
“When we appreciate this fact we come to perceive that the epochal strides in the unfolding of redemptive revelation are at the same time epochal advances in the disclosure of the riches of covenant grace. This progressive enrichment of the covenant grace bestowed is not, however, a retraction of or deviation from the concept which is constitutive from the beginning but, as we should expect, an expansion and intensification of it. Hence, when we come to the climax and apex of covenant administration in the New Testament epoch, we have sovereign grace and promise dispensed on the highest level because it is grace bestowed and promise given in regard to the attainment of the highest end conceivable for men. It is no wonder then that the new covenant is called the everlasting covenant.”
「約的啟示走過歷史不同的時代，到了新約就達到完結 (consummation) 階段。而新約與先前的眾約在原則和本質上並沒有不同；其實新約本身就是所有約裏的必須原則 (constitutive principle) – 上帝主權的恩典 – 的至終、最完全的顯示和實現。當我們記得，約不是只在於與恩典的賜予，不只是藉著發誓作出應許，而是與上帝的關係﹕人類宗教過程的最高目標，就是與上帝連接，交通 (union and communion) 的時候，我們就重新發現，新約把這關係帶到最高的層面。」
“As covenant revelation has progressed throughout the ages it has reached its consummation in the new covenant and the new covenant is not wholly diverse in principle and character from the covenants which have preceded it and prepared for it but it is itself the complete realization and embodiment of that sovereign grace which was the constitutive principle of all the covenants. And when we remember that covenant is not only bestowment of grace, not only oath-bound promise, but also relationship with God in that which is the crown and goal of the whole process of religion, namely, union and communion with God, we discover again that the new covenant brings this relationship also to the highest level of achievement. …” (pp. 30-32)
「上帝啟示的約，其核心就是不斷的對人提醒、確定﹕「我要作你們的上帝，你們要作我的子民」。新約與先前的眾約並沒有不同，因為新約展開了這特殊的親密關係。新約的不同在於﹕它使那藉著應許帶到高峰的（上帝與子民的）關係，完全成熟與豐富。從這層意義上來看，新約是永遠之約，因為再沒有增充，再沒有更豐富的了。約的中保就是上帝的獨生子，父上帝榮耀的光輝，祂本性的形象，承受萬物的後嗣。祂也是約的保證人。再者，因為再沒有比榮耀之主更高的中保，更高的保證人，沒有更卓越的獻祭，沒有更有效、更至終的﹕只有耶穌所獻的，就是毫無瑕疵，藉著永生的靈獻上祂自己給上帝﹕所以﹕沒有任何的約會超過新約。」
“At the centre of covenant revelation as its constant refrain is the assurance ‘I will be your God, and ye shall be my people’. The new covenant does not differ from the earlier covenants because it inaugurates this peculiar intimacy. It differs simply because it brings to the ripest and richest fruition the relationship epitomized in that promise. In this respect also the new covenant is an everlasting covenant – there is no further expansion or enrichment. The mediator of the new covenant is none other than God’s own Son, the effulgence of the Father’s glory and the express image of His substance, the heir of all things. He is its surety also. And because there can be no higher mediator or surety than the Lord of glory, since there can be no sacrifice more transcendent in its efficacy and finality than the sacrifice of Him who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot unto God, this covenant cannot give place to another.”
「恩典與真理，應許與應驗，都在新約中達到它們的「豐滿」（完全, pleroma），
而啟示錄21﹕3就是指著新約說的﹕「看哪，上帝的帳幕在人間。祂要與人同住，它們要作祂的子民，上帝要親自與他們同在，作他們的上帝」。」
“Grace and truth, promise and fulfillment, have in this covenant received their pleroma, and it is in terms of the new covenant that it will be said, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them’ (Rev. xxi. 3.)” (p. 32)
| 编辑录入:
Bo
|
| 文章来源:
林慈信
|
| 录入时间:
2/22/2006 5:06:00 PM
|
|
|
|